Michigan 2013

Tuesday 6/4/2013

On Monday evening Vickie (appreciatively) drove to Detroit to pick us up and drive us to her Dad's home for another adventure in and around Midland, Michigan. After our stay here last year, it felt a little like "coming home".

Len always wanted to have his own farm -- and has enjoyed his for these many years

"Big Red" serves to transport Len the quarter mile to and from his mail box

Back in the day, Len did a lot of bow hunting -- bagging a deer a year

 

Vickie had set up our sleeping quarters, picked fresh flowers for our room, and left a welcome trinket on our pillow.

We got ourselves settled in and hit the pillows quite readily after a long day of travel. Our room is actually the whole basement with our own bathroom, and the laundry conveniently in the next room. Beds are covered with quilts handmade by Vickies grandma and a treasure they are.

As usual, I was the first one to arise in the early morn, and took a little walk around the property.

 

The river is higher than usual because of recent rain and flooding the town has experienced

 

The geese in family formation were also up early. The river is red/brown color due to the tannin from the trees that line the banks, and probably some iron content as well

This swing hangs from Vickie's childhood (favorite) tree, and one can imagine a child swinging by the river enjoying country sounds and sights

A nice quiet time roaming the farm, then everyone was up and we were planning our day for bike riding. Our first step was to rent bikes. Last year Vickie drove here from home and brought her other bike so I rode her Bike Friday that she keeps here at her Dad's place, and Gerry rented a bike from Ray's Bike Shop. This year we rented two bikes and a bike rack for the car.

Securely attaching the bike rack to the rear of the rental KIA Soul for our upcoming adventuring

We drove the bikes back home and geared up for a ride beginning from Len's house. Vickie said she has wanted to get a closer look at the "mirror house" that is just off the highway. What an interesting stop. We took back roads with little traffic to get there and spent time wandering around the abandoned building and site.

Though there are a couple of broken windows in the back, it is hopeful that preservation will prevail

 

The entire house is covered with broken pieces of mirror, mosaic tiles, and other objects found lying around

 

One side of the rear doorway

A splash of color in the back weeds

The "grapes" are rusted bolts

Bike Friday by mirror house

 

I couldn't resist this one..

 

After the mirror house visit we found our way (well, Vickie found our way) the the Pere Marquette Trail that led us into Midland and the coffee shop for our afternoon tea and crumpets. We stopped at Ray's Bike Shop for a little fine tuning that the rentals needed and were soon on our way home.

 

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